Yesterday The Washington Examiner posted an article about Donald Trump’s nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. The nomination is not welcomed by the Democrats, and they are trying to derail it before it gets anywhere near confirmation. The race card is coming out again–they’re now using the Alabama senator’s full name, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. This links the Senator to the South and its past history of racism. The efforts are somewhat pathetic, and we need to examine what is behind them.

The article reports:

Democrats are particularly anxious about immigration because of the unusually tenuous nature of President Obama‘s policies on the issue. Those policies can be undone unilaterally, by the new president in some cases, and by the attorney general and head of homeland security in other cases. There’s no need for congressional action — and no way for House or Senate Democrats to slow or stop it.

There are extensive, and in some cases, strict immigration laws on the books, passed by bipartisan majorities of Congress. Obama wanted Congress to change those laws. Congress declined. So Obama stopped enforcing provisions of the law that he did not like. A new administration could simply resume enforcement of the law — a move that by itself would bring a huge change to immigration practices in the United States. No congressional approval needed.

Part of a President’s Oath of Office is to uphold the Constitution–that includes enforcing the laws. Unfortunately Congress did not force him to keep his Oath. Now the Democrats in Congress are trying to block the appointment of someone who would enforce the laws that are currently on the books.

The article lists a number of current immigration policies that could be changed without any action by Congress.

Here are some of those policies:

1) End the embargo on worksite enforcement. “Experience has shown that employers respond very quickly and voluntarily implement compliance measures when there is an uptick in enforcement,” Vaughan notes, “because they see the potential damage to their operations and public image for being caught and prosecuted.”

2) Restore ICE’s authority to make expedited removals of illegal immigrants who are felons or who have recently crossed into the United States.

3) Tighten requirements for H-1B visas, including banning such visas for low-salary, low-skill jobs, revoking visas that are followed by layoffs of American workers, and other measures.

4) Stop suing states that take action to support immigration enforcement, and instead support such enforcement. After Arizona’s famous SB 1070 law, Obama cracked down, arguing that the federal government has the sole authority to enforce immigration law, and also to not enforce immigration law. President Trump could choose to enforce the law.

5) Force sanctuary cities to observe the law. Trump campaigned extensively on the subject of sanctuary cities, mentioning San Francisco murder victim Kate Steinle in many speeches. Attorney General Sessions could enforce an existing law, 8 USC 1373, which prohibits local communities from banning their officials from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

All of these are simply corrections to Presidential overreach that occurred during the Obama Administration. Since they were never approved by Congress, they don’t have to be undone by Congress.

Immigration is one of many reasons Senator Sessions will make a fantastic Attorney General. It is safe to assume that under Senator Sessions the politicization of the Justice Department will end. The Senator is quite capable of draining the swamp that has been created during the last eight years–from bogus investigations of the New Black Panther intimidation case, Fast and Furious, the Internal Revenue Service‘s targeting of conservative groups, etc.

Senator Sessions will bring America back to equal justice under the law. Any Congressman who does not support that concept does not belong in Congress.